A taco is a mexican food item which is made from a taco shell and various fillings. A taco shell is usually a brittle shell formed from a cooked circular cornmeal cake that has been folded over into a U-shape. Various filling materials, such as ground beef, shredded lettuce, chopped onions, tomatoes, grated cheese, or other foodstuffs are placed within the taco shell, and various sauces may also be added to enhance the spicy mexican flavor of the taco.
The taco fillings frequently fall from the openings of the taco shell, especially if the filled taco is laid on its side. Moreover, because a taco shell is characteristically brittle, the fillings within the taco shell are easily released if the shell is crushed or broken. Thus, service of a taco to a diner and the subsequent consumption of the taco can be a messy, often clumsy process. Nonetheless, tacos have become popular food items, and are commonly found on the menus of many fast food restaurants. In this environment, tacos are usually presented to the customer with the taco shell prefilled with some or all of the filling materials. Thus, it is desirable to provide some means for supporting a filled taco shell when it is served to a consumer to alleviate spillage of the filling materials.
The foregoing is particularly important for fast food outlets, in which service time is at a premium. To ensure customer satisfaction, the unique requirements of fast food restaurant service necessitate that the taco holder be sturdy, lightweight, compact, inexpensive, and disposable. Also, as it is likely that a fast food restaurant will serve a large quantity of tacos per unit time, it is desirable that the taco holder be capable of compact storage to accommodate the space restrictions common to most popular franchise fast food restaurants and to ensure that a large number of the holders will be readily accessible to restaurant workers. Additionally, it is desirable that the taco holder reflect a mexican motif in keeping with the decorative scheme promoted at many taco serving restaurants.
In light of the aforementioned deficiencies, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new, disposable taco holder that gives broad, sturdy support to retain a taco shell in an upright position.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a holder that will support a filled taco shell to prevent spillage of the fillings within the shell.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a taco holder that may be stored compactly.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a taco holder having a mexican motif.